How to make other AGM/cruise missile work as SPICE type?

[ccc1tw]

After two Israeli campaigns, I think SPICE is the most user-friendly weapon for static targets…just select targets, set in DED, prickle and job done.

so… an idea comes to me - can we make long range cruise missile like a powered SPICE?

I try tweaking AS-15 and AS-16 data, following the setting as SPICE…
then load them on F-16I sufa, but i cannot find parameter settings in DED-SPICE or JDAM page? I’ve selected and saved tgts in planning screen in advance.

If this idea work, we may fire cruise missiles from bombers to attack multiple high-value tgt or SAM radars in first hours of campaign - and save lots SEAD/DEAD/deep strike flights!! of course the supply of cruise missile should be controlled…or other strikers may lose their job.

[ccc1tw]

Alright, I cannot make AS-15/16 as SPICE type weapon.

BUT- I test my idea by converting SPICE1000 into a SPICE-ER or AS-16 engine-powered GPS weapon.

load four rounds of tweaked wpn on F-16I sufa, I did some tests…

1. target is an airbase. I can open SPICE DED and keyin tgt data. fire four rounds at 35nm(max DLZ), all hit tgt.

2. I try to fire missiles at 60-70nm distance, all hit. I use missile external view to check the final result… be sure to confirm last missile hit befor exiting 3d world, or that missile will be a miss.

3. now comes the interesting part - target is an airbase, I place a patriot SAM unit to defend it, and one standalone patriot SAM few miles away. my selected tgt include two airbase features and two MPQ53 radars in the patriot SAM units.

when I’m about 70nm to tgt, two MPQ-53

icons show on RWR, I fire all missiles immediately and turn 180 deg heading home. switching among missile views, I saw two missile hit airbase features, one hit MPQ53 in the base, and the last one heading toweard the independent patriot unit… nothing visible at that coordinate…the SAM unit probably moved, or not deaggregated… last missile just hit the dirt.

4. so…it seems SPICE-type guidance can be applied to long-range GPS AGM/cruise missile… the limitation is simmer has to stay in 3d world till last missile hit tgt.

the test may help adding fun factor to theaters like ODS/Afghanstan/Syria - B1/B52/Tu95/Tu160 shooting salvos of cruise missiles.

PS- I cannot make other ac.dat to use SPICE type avonic… it seems only F16I sufa pit /DED can show SPICE page.

[ccc1tw]

another test…
i increase engine burn time from 160 to 260 sec, shoot four tweaked spice missiles at 95-100nm to tgt, all hit. after shooting missiles, i keep flying 100nm away from tgt till all missile hit.

[I-Hawk]

Hi ccc how are you man?

A couple of things:
1. Technically there might be a problem to handle SPICE missiles on ACs that can load such weapons at different stations than 3/4/6/7. I don’t remember exactly but it could be a limitation to load them into the DED page.

2. SPICE are VERY specific weapon, for long range missiles one could use simple GPS guided type, without the SPICE capability. Yes you loose the DED thing but OTOH you aren’t limited by hardpoints. Some long range missiles already have that kind of setup in the DB.

3. Regarding deaggregation. One should be aware that the missiles are holding temporary bubbles against long range targets, but temporary bubbles are valid just as long as the player is inside a the SimBubbleSize value (in feet) that is set in the Falcon4.aii file in the campaign folder. The default value is 400000 which comes to ~65NM. The actual distance is just a little more than 70 (Not sure why but seems like there is some grace margin to this distance). So in any given theater the distance would be ~70NM unless someone changes it. I can tell you that in ITO its been set to 972179 which means ~160NM, much better and seems to be working fine. So technically when a temporary bubble is active, the player (And in MP I guess the player who is the owner of the missile) should be no more than that simBubbleSize away from the missile, if not then the temporary bubble will die and missile will hit nothing.

I’ll also add here that setting this value too high (I tried e.g 4M feet) may have negative impact on stuff (e.g I started to see in campaign that AI jets sometimes gone crazy/weird), but seems like a value close to 1M as done in ITO is pretty much OK and safe and gives a good distance for this purpose.

Cheers!

[ccc1tw]

ha… thanx for reply.

I can tell you that in ITO its been set to 972179 which means ~160NM,

no wonder I can fire spice ER at 100nm. after firing missiles, I did not fly 180deg back home(may fly outside the bubble), instead I fly pendicular to attack axis, wait missiles to hit tgt.

BTW…is SPICE-capability hardcoded in exe for f16i sufa exclusively?
I try edit Tu160.dat to have spice=1, and direct tu160 3d pit to use F16isufa 3dcockpit file, and edit tu160 lod slot settings to be the same as f-16i sufa… all effort in vain. in 3d pit the DED page won’t show properly.

[Planehazza]

@ccc1tw:

ha… thanx for reply.

no wonder I can fire spice ER at 100nm. after firing missiles, I did not fly 180deg back home(may fly outside the bubble), instead I fly pendicular to attack axis, wait missiles to hit tgt.

BTW…is SPICE-capability hardcoded in exe for f16i sufa exclusively?
I try edit Tu160.dat to have spice=1, and direct tu160 3d pit to use F16isufa 3dcockpit file, and edit tu160 lod slot settings to be the same as f-16i sufa… all effort in vain. in 3d pit the DED page won’t show properly.

have you looked in avionics configurator?

[I-Hawk]

Yea, technically if you set this in .dat file, the page should appear:

avionicsCanUseSpice 1

If it’ll actually work (I mean by work that you will actually be able to setup targets and launch correctly), that depends indeed on hardpoints that can manage SPICE, because currently it’s kinda ugly hardcoded per F-16 A-G hardpoints only.

[ccc1tw]

thanx guys, I’ve set that parameter to 1 already. no go.

anyway the tests have proven my idea about “GPS weapon as simulated cruise missile that can be fired in salvos and hit multiple targets about 100nm away - without man-in-the-loop control”.

it also hints the possibility of bomber-launched cruise missile attack in first days of campaigns.